Udon Soup

Udon Soup – A classic Japanese meal made with thick udon noodles in a flavorful broth. This is a delicious dish that can be made in less than 20 minutes!

Udon Soup

Udon soup is my favorite food. I first fell in love with it in (of all places) Disney World. Yes, Japan in Epcot had some wicked udon that has stuck with me all of these years. Ever since then, it has become one of my go-to recipes to get at any Japanese restaurant or in Japan.

Now don’t worry, this is such an easy recipe that really anyone can make. Start to finish, you need about 20 minutes and just a few simple ingredients. It’s as simple as boiling the noodles, combining a few ingredients in a pot and warming them up into a broth, and then combining the noodles and broth. Easy peasy!

There are many varieties of udon soups with some of the other being meat-centric such as chicken udon or beef udon along with other types such as kitsune, tempura, curry, miso, nabeyaki, etc. All of them are amazing but this is the most basic of the recipes with a traditional noodle broth.

Make sure to check out the rest of the recipes in my Japanese recipe collection HERE!

Can’t get enough of this udon soup recipe? Try these other recipes!

Common questions about making udon soup

What is in udon soup base?

To make a traditional udon soup base, you need dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.

How do you make udon soup?

To make udon soup, you need to boil udon noodles, prepare the broth by bringing dashi to a boil and then adding in the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, and then assemble by dividing the noodles into bowls and pour broth over along with thinly sliced green onions and seven-spice blend (shichimi).

Is udon soup good for you?

The broth in udon soup can be high in sodium depending on whether you use homemade dashi stock or pre-prepared dashi along with whether you use a higher sodium soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce.

How do you eat udon soup?

To eat udon soup, you use chopsticks to get the udon noodles to your mouth and a soup spoon to get the broth. Eating Japanese noodles is a situation where slurping is completely acceptable and even expected to order to not seem rude.

Is udon soup broth vegetarian?

No, the broth of udon soup is made with dashi which is a fish stock.

What can I substitute for dashi?

There is no real substitute for dashi but it is easily avaibale online on sites such as Amazon for just a few dollars. You can use a chicken or beef broth instead in the recipe but it will have a very different (yet also delicious) flavor than if you used dashi.

How do you use dashi powder?

If you are using dashi powder, then you will need to bring the amount of water needed for the recipe to a boil and then add in 1 teaspoon of dashi powder per cup of water. (example: 4 teaspoons of dashi powder for 4 cups of water)

Tips and tricks on this udon soup recipe

If you can’t find any of the ingredients at your local grocery store, then either an Asian market or Amazon will have all of them for just a few dollars.

Light soy sauce is different from dark soy sauce and effects the taste of the broth. You can use just one type of soy sauce but the broth will not taste the same.

You can make homemade udon noodles to go in the soup like I did.

To store, keep the noodles and broth in separate containers. The soup will be good for about 2-3 days.

Yield: 4 servings

Udon Soup

Udon Soup - A classic Japanese meal made with thick udon noodles in a flavorful broth. This is a delicious dish that can be made in less than 20 minutes!

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes

Total Time15 minutes

Ingredients

5 cups water

5 teaspoons instant dashi granules

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon mirin

1 pound dried udon noodles

1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

Seven-spice mixture, (optional)

Instructions

Cook udon noodles according to the instructions on the packaging. Drain and rinse under cold water before setting aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in dashi granules to the water along with dark and light soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the sugar and dashi have dissolved.

Divide noodles and broth between 4 bowls and garnish with green onions and seven-spice. Serve immediately.